Balance Of Payments: A Confluence of Self-interest

The strains caused by British
devaluation and U.S. curbs on the outflow of dollars last week prompted
continental Europe to begin changing its economic course.

Top European financial experts agreed that their countries must dip into
their stores of gold and monetary reserves to spur economic growth. By
doing so, the Europeans expect to help both themselves and other parts
of the free world to resist rising unemployment and a slowdown in
international trade, two deflationary forces unleashed by the U.S. and
U.K. actions.

As a remarkable confluence of self-interest among nations, the new
policy was especially welcomed by the U.S.,...